Dr. James T. Callow publications
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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
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It was the custom of young Cuban boys who were trying
to prove their manhood to dive into the waters of Havana
Harbor,near the old prison, and ride the sharks. It was
said that the sharks frequented the harbor because political
prisoners were placed in an underwater dungeon to be eaten
by the sharks.
Submitter comment:
This need to confront death and danger in order to establish
"machismo" is also seen in such activities as bullfighting.
This story was told to Carmen by her father, Gustavo Sebastian
Albore', who was very proud that he had been brave enough to
ride the sharks. Gustavo was proud also of his Castillian
Spanish parents, since in his mind, to be "Cuban"
meant to be black. He always, therefore, referred to himself
as "Castillian" whenever someone asked him his nationality.
Where learned: NEW YORK ; NEW ROCHELLE
Keyword(s): Courage, test, Hispanic, rite-of-passage
| Subject headings: | Favorites CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Entertainment Diversion CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Maturity |
Date learned: 00001930S
"INCHY PINCHY"
This practical joke begins when one person convinces
another (usually a younger/naive) person that they are
going to be initiated into a special group. The "initiate"
is taken into a darkened room, with perhaps only a candle
for a light, and seated on the floor. Others come into the
room (quietly and reverentially) and seat themselves in
a circle, in which the "initiate" is included. (Everyone
but the person who is the target of the joke is a co-conspirator.)
After everyone is seated in a circle, the
leader (seated next to the victim) announces that the
ceremony is about to begin. He instructs the "initiate"
to copy his motions exactly, doing to his neighbor what
is done to him. The leader, then, reaches out and grabs
the victim's cheek and gently pulls on it, saying
solemnly, "Inchy Pinchy." This should be intoned slowly--
"In...chy Pin...chy." The victim pulls the cheek of
the person next to him and does likewise, and the motion is
passed around the circle. Again the leader reaches out
and grabs another part of the victim's face, perhaps the
forehead or nose, and says "Inchy Pinchy." Again the
motion is passed around the circle. This continues as
many times as the leader wants. When the "ritual" is
over, the victim is instructed to look in the mirror to
verify how the ceremony has transformed him. When he
does so, he realizes that each time the leader touched
his face, that he had been smeared with lipstick (or any
other substance that can be concealed in the hand). At the
moment of realization everyone shouts "INCHY PINCHY!"
Submitter comment:
This was a joke I learned at a slumber party when I was
in seventh grade. My older brother and I successfully
played it on my younger brother, Greg, who reminded me
of it when I asked for any possible folklore items,
especially children's songs/games. A copy of a story he
wrote about this experience has been submitted as
supplementary material.
Where learned: OHIO ; COLUMBUS
Keyword(s): Humor, trick, mock rite-of-passage
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Entertainment Diversion CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Initiation rite Hazing |
Date learned: 00001965CA
RIDDLE
WHAT IS IT THAT BALD-HEADED FOLKS HAVE NO NEED FOR?
KEYS, BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T ANY LOCKS.
Where learned: NEW YORK CITY ; NEW YORK
James Callow Keyword(s): LOCKS OF HAIR - PUN
| Subject headings: | RIDDLE -- True Riddle |
Entry filtered.
If two people say the same thing at the same time
you should hook your little fingers and make a
wish.
Submitter comment:
Informant says she has been practicing this since
she was a little girl.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): Simultaneity of speech
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Body part Senses BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Prayer SPEECH -- Gesture SPEECH -- Wishes Wants Desires Predictions |
Date learned: 00001950S
IN THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, THE PEOPLE LIVING IN THE
LOWER PENINSULA HOLD UP THEIR RIGHT OR LEFT HAND
LIKE A MITTEN AND POINT TO THE PLACE ON THEIR HAND
WHICH SHOWS THE LOCATION OF THE CITY IN WHICH
THEY LIVE.(POINT TO THE PALM ON THE RIGHT HAND OR
BACKHAND OF THE LEFT.)
Submitter comment:
THE LOWER PENINSULA OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN LOOKS
LIKE A MITTEN.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; SAGINAW
James Callow Keyword(s): GEOGRAPHY OF A STATE
| Subject headings: | Favorites SPEECH -- Gesture |
Date learned: 00001970S
"On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed.
It rolled off the table, and onto the floor,
And then my poor meatball, rolled right out the door.
It rolled in the garden, and under a bush,
And then my poor meatball, was nothing but mush."
Where learned: NEW YORK ; Kenmore
James Callow Keyword(s): Parody of "On Top Of Old Smokey"
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Ill humor Ridicule Mockery |
Date learned: 00001973 ca.
If yo tink yo bundle of dirty clothes too heavy, try
picking up yo neighbor's own.
Submitter comment:
People always believe that they have the worst of everything
until they realize that other people have problems too.
Where learned: VIRGIN ISLANDS ; Saint Thomas
Keyword(s): tink = think ; yo = you or your
James Callow Keyword(s): Advice -- Positive ; Metaphor: problems = bundle of clothes ; RELATIVITY ; WEIGHT
| Subject headings: | PROVERB -- Proverbial Metaphor |
Date learned: 02-00-1991
It is bad luck to let your tears fall on the face of the dead.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): Coffin ; Corpse ; Crying taboo ; Tabu = taboo
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Product or activity of man or animal BELIEF -- Death Funeral Burial BELIEF -- Bad luck |
Date learned: 03-00-1991
Festival of the Star
The Christmas Eve events in Poland are called the "Festival of
the Stars." This Festival begins when the young children see the
first star that evening. The mother has a white table cloth on
the table with small amounts of straw on it to symbolize the
Bethlehem stable in which Jesus was born. After the first star is
seen by the small children, the mother puts out the food. But
before anyone eats the dinner the family says a prayer of
Thanksgiving and the father passes out small wafers with religious
pictures stamped on them. These wafers have been blessed by the
priest. Those present at the dinner wish each other good health
and happiness and share the wafers with each of the others. One
at a time you go up to another member of the family, wish the
other family member good health and happiness and then break off a
small portion of their wafer and eat it. The special dinner
consists of borscht soup (beet soup) or duck soup, fish (it is a
pike fish with saffron and raisins in it), pierogi, sauerkraut,
mushrooms, nuts and kolatchi cookies (these are cookies made of a
sugar dough which is wrapped around a fruit jam in the middle).
One place setting is left vacant for either the Christ child or an
unexpected guest. This is significant of Mary and Joseph's search
for a place to stay when Mary was to give birth to Jesus. Since
there was no place for them to stay, not even in the inn, this
place guarantees a place for them. After supper, the Christmas
tree is lit, and Polish Christmas carols are sung. The star man
comes to the house and asks the children about religion and tests
their catechism knowledge. Three boys dressed as the Three Wise
Men carry a lit star into the room singing Polish Christmas carols
and bring presents to the children. The children do not believe
in Santa Claus; they receive their presents from the Three Wise
Men, only if they answer the religious questions posed by the star
man correctly. Sometimes men would also dress up to be a camel
and accompany the Three Wise Men in their entrance into the home.
At midnight, the families attend the midnight mass which they call
"Pasterka" or in English, "Shepherd's Mass." The church is
decorated with the manger scene throughout the Christmas season.
On January 6, "The Day of the Three Kings," the Christmas season
is over.
Submitter comment:
Many of the activities listed in this Polish Christmas were
practiced by both her mother and father when they lived in Poland.
The Polish Christmas dinner, Christmas Carols, and the tree
decorating are still practiced in the family. Also the family
attends the "Shepherd's Mass" each year.
Where learned: POLAND
Keyword(s): Festival of the Star
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- School |
Date learned: 00-00-1950
Autograph verse
(Any name may be inserted here) had a little lamb,
And now the lamb is dead.
Now she takes it to school,
Between two loaves of bread.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; Sandusky
Keyword(s): Sandwich
James Callow Keyword(s): parody of "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Lyrical Verse Lyrical Verse Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Autograph Verse |
Date learned: 00-00-1965
Emergency Phone Calls
When I was a child, I always wore Penny Loafers. My mother would
put dimes in the penny slots of my shoes, just so that I would always
have twenty cents to make a phone call in case of an emergency.
Submitter comment:
The dimes I was forced to wear helped me out of a difficult
situation more than once.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; SAGINAW
Keyword(s): Telephone call, price of
| Subject headings: | 686 First / Once / One / Newness Favorites CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Measure of quality Monetary system Money Wealth ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Dress HandsFeet BELIEF -- Number P686.1.20 |
Date learned: 00001980CA
Michigan, My Michigan
Michigan, my Michigan,
The state I love,
It looks just like a mitten,
But it fits just like a glove!
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): State rhymes
James Callow Keyword(s): Shape of state of Michigan
| Subject headings: | 730 Lyrical Verse Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Lyrical Verse C730.326 |
Date learned: 01-00-1986
If you want the dead to come to you in your sleep and talk to
you, write a letter, fill a glass with water, put it under your
bed, put the letter on top of the glass, and go then go to sleep.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): Ghost of the Dead
| Subject headings: | BELIEF -- Mythology BELIEF -- Ghost Spirit Phantom Specter |
Date learned: 02-00-1992
Dog Joke
There was a dog convention going on. The dogs were told to
check in and hang their rear-ends up on the wall for display. The
convention hall caught on fire! Dogs were yelling, "Fire! fire!,
everybody just grab a rear-end and escape!" That's why dogs go
around smelling each other's butts today, they're trying to locate
their own.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; Co workers ; Michigan Consolidated Gas Company
James Callow Keyword(s): Origin of animal behavior
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Mammal PROSE NARRATIVE -- Jest Anecdote |
Date learned: 00001980S
IN OBERAMERGAUE, GERMANY DURING CHRISTMAS TIME, THEY
HOLD A PASSION PLAY, DEPICTING THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; GERMANY ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): BIRTH OF OUR LORD=CHRISTMAS. ; SOME CONTRADICTION HERE--PASSION PLAY=CRUCIFIXION.
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- December 21 solstice to March 20 Christmas Season See F645.2 for Advent Season. |
Date learned: 12-00-1967
ON NEW YEAR'S DAY, YOUNGSTERS GREET RELATIVES WITH:
SUB HECK BULL HI, THENIS SPA HAEIA.
THEY GET PAID FOR THIS HOLIDAY GREETING.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): NOT TOO SURE OF THE SPELLING, DUE TO SLOPPY PRINTING.
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- January 1 New Year's |
Date learned: 00-00-1967
IN OBERAMERGAUE, GERMANY DURING CHRISTMAS TIME, THEY
HOLD A PASSION PLAY, DEPICTING THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; GERMANY ; DETROIT
Keyword(s): BIRTH OF OUR LORD=CHRISTMAS. ; SOME CONTRADICTION HERE--PASSION PLAY=CRUCIFIXION.
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- December 21 solstice to March 20 Christmas Season See F645.2 for Advent Season. |
Date learned: 12-00-1967
COLOR TAG
A PERSON IS IT. HE LOOKS AROUND THE AREA THE
PLAYERS ARE SITTING (IN) AS FAR AS HE CAN SEE.
HE DECIDES ON SOME OBJECT IN VIEW AND SAYS TO THE
OTHERS, "I'M THINKING OF A COLOR AND IT'S (WHATEVER COLOR
THE OBJECT IS)." THE OTHER PLAYERS TAKE TURNS
TRYING TO GUESS WHAT OBJECT IN VIEW IT IS. THE
FIRST TO DO SO, WAS "IT" NEXT TIME. IF EVERYONE
GAVE (UP) THEN THE PERSON WHO WAS IT HAD ANOTHER
TURN.
Submitter comment: PLAYED BY THE KIDS ON MY BLOCK WHEN I WAS 6-9 YEARS OLD.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT ; DETROIT
James Callow Keyword(s): AGE OF PLAYERS
| Subject headings: | Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Guessing |
Date learned: 04-00-1967
The Cat
Joe called up Jim and said "How's my cat?" Jim told him, "He's dead." Joe said "You shouldn't have come out and said 'he's dead.' You should have said 'He's up on the roof' and then I'd call back later and you could say 'he fell off the roof and he's in the hospital.' Then a few days later you should say 'he's very sick in the hospital,' and then a few days after that you should say 'he passed away.' That way the shock wouldn't be so much for me."
Jim then said "I'm sorry. I'll do it like that next time." Joe said "OK. By the way, how's my mother?" Jim said "she's up on the roof."
Data entry tech comment:
Motifs added by TRD
James Callow comment:
Original Boggs Numbers [B620, F546] have been crossed out and B667 written nest to them. The number 2 is written on top of the number 7 in the new boggs number.
Keyword(s): CAT ; DIALOGUE ; Humorous ; JOKE ; MOTHER ; Roof ; Stupid
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Stupid man or woman |